Class actions against the world's largest corporate auditing firms are spreading globally as governments bolster investor protection laws in countries where the Big Four firms have previously not faced substantial legal risks. Even as class action lawsuits dwindle in the United States due to court rulings and legislation, the number of countries allowing these kinds of suits has grown to more than 20, including recent additions Italy, Poland and Mexico. […] "Class action litigation can drive up costs to the breaking point fairly quickly," said Ed Nusbaum, head of 6th-largest audit firm, Grant Thornton International. "The U.S. firms have adjusted for this, but as class actions move around the world, there's a huge risk," he told Reuters. [Reuters]
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Ex-Ernst & Young Partner Trades Tech Companies for Cuddlesome Creatures
The Oakland Tribune shares this charming story of an accountant who discovered her talents would be more appreciated in helping animals:
Like many people who love animals, Sue James dreamed of becoming a veterinarian when she was a child.
“I looked into going to vet school but my parents, they wanted me to pursue a more traditional career,” said James, a Danville resident who grew up in a house in New York state where the family pets included dogs, rabbits — even a monkey.
After a long stint in the corporate world, James found an outlet for her lifelong love of animals at Tri-Valley Animal Rescue, an all-volunteer group founded in 1992 with a mission to prevent the unnecessary euthanasia of shelter animals.
Uncle Ernie gets a badass plug in the next bit:
She started volunteering in 2005 as she was winding down a long and successful career at Ernst & Young. There, she was a partner who oversaw audit work for some of Silicon Valley’s leading high-tech companies. Today, she serves on the boards of Yahoo, Applied Materials and Coherent.
Working at Ernst & Young, she learned the importance of teamwork to meet the needs of clients. That focus also carries over to her volunteer work. “It’s about the cats and dogs,” she said. “But also, for me, it’s how can we work effectively as a team.”
It makes sense that she’d end up at the shelter; from what I hear, actual auditing isn’t much different.
By the way, she’s 65. She holds a bachelor’s in math from Hunter College, New York (1967) and bachelor’s in accounting from San Jose State (1975). She taught math and science in junior high and high school in New York state from 1967-69, worked in San Jose office of Ernst & Young starting in 1975, was named partner in 1987, retired in 2006, then consulted for the company through 2009.
What Was Discussed on Ernst & Young’s ‘All Hands Broadcast’?
We’ve heard from a couple people that Ernst & Young had an “all hands webcast” of some kind today but so far, no one has given us any details as to what was discussed.
Of course there were probably kind words about all your hard work this busy season, your commitment to the firm and so on and so forth but we want to get to the crux; this calls for speculation on our part, until we get something more solid. Possible topics include:
1. Hazing methods for the folks from LECG Corp.
2. The announcement of special screenings of In a JIT.
3. Two minutes’ hate for a certain Governor.
4. Mysterious references to “exciting changes” to the compensation structure that won’t be revealed until “details” are sorted out (i.e. management knows what PwC is doing).
5. Your input.
Let’s See Where Your Favorite Big 4 CEO Landed on Glassdoor’s 2018 Top 100 List
Each year, Glassdoor puts out a list of the highest-rated CEOs in the U.S., based […]